Mischief Managed?
by SuperMegaFoxyAwesomeHot77
Summary: The Marauders are an elite group of mischief makers in their fifth year at Hogwarts. Padfoot and Prongs are planning a spectacular prank for the end of the year, but they are being a bit sloppy in their preperations. The source of all their pranks may be taken- and this time for good. *cough marauders map cough*
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer- I don't own harry potter, it belongs to the lovely JK Rowling**

**A/N- I wrote this because it bothered me that the books never tell why and how the marauders had their map taken from them. Please review I beg of you, and give me some pranks ideas that they can pull. :) **

Causing strife in the corridors of Hogwarts was one of the greatest joys of life! James Potter and his best friends were strutting down the corridor in such an exaggerated fashion, that it was a wonder they still managed to look cool. There was a large bang from a classroom behind them, and smoke billowed out, accompanied by a shriek.

"James, Sirius, Lupin, Pettigrew! Get back here immediately!"

"Ah, whoops," James said grimacing. McGonagall was the one factor in their prank that they hadn't considered.

"Bloody hell mate! You couldn't have remembered her?" Sirius said, faking outrage.

"Well it's not up to me to remember her tea time visits now is it?" James retorted. McGonagall was a rather new teacher that had been cracking down on the Marauders constantly. Their reign of terror was slowly being diminished under her constantly watchful eye. The school year was coming to a close fairly soon, and the boys had to make up for their lack of pranks, by pulling off one last hurrah. It was their fifth year after all, and it was their duty to be more spectacular at pranking then the year before. It was James and Sirius, the masterminds behind most of the pranks, who had come up with a worthy idea for a prank during the end of the year exams. They were weeks away, but it never hurt to prepare. It was Sirius who had suggested the prank be tested in Professor Binn's room, the boring ghost. Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall had taken it upon herself to visit all the teachers, and discuss over team, the future of their curriculums. She felt that what they taught was too old fashioned, but few agreed with her. The new headmaster Dumbledore was one of the few who did. He had begun three years before the boys began their first year, and the kindly, eccentric old man was a dear friend of theirs.

"Boys come back here this instant!" McGonagall threatened.

"Don't worry, she can't pin it on us," James said out of the corner of his mouth.

"I don't think she cares whether or not she had proof. We're in for a month's detention now, mate." Peter Pettigrew, a plump and rather mousy looking boy scurried up next to James worriedly.

"I don't want to get in trouble," he muttered.

"Oh don't be a wuss Wormtail. A few more detentions aren't going to kill us." James smirked in a way that made it clear he had been in many detentions, and was very proud of that. The four boys all had nicknames for each other. Lupin was Moony, for the fact that, well, he was a werewolf. James was Prongs, because of his superior barbs at people, and Peter was Wormtail because he strikingly resembled a rat. Sirius Black was amazing at slipping around unnoticed, and being such a master of stealth, he was thus known as Padfoot.

McGonagall was standing in an annoyed posture with soot on her face. She was tapping her foot in an angry sort of way, and a tendril of hair had slipped out of her normally immaculate bun, and was hanging in her face.

"What," she said in a furious voice, her nostrils flaring, "do you think you were doing?" None of the boys responded. The normally talkative Sirius and James remained quiet in an attempt to seem innocent, resulting on getting on her good side.

"Hmmm?" She asked. "None of you are going to fess up?" Her eyes narrowed, and she looked at them all severely. "Fine, then because you won't admit to it and the fact that have a _very_ long history-"she started, before Sirius interrupted her;

"Honest Professor we have no idea about what happened! Did something take place here?" He said much too innocently. McGonagall just looked at him incredulously. The smoke billowing out of Binn's classroom should've been indication enough of not to pretend that he had no idea that something had happened, but he just kept on talking.

"If there's some way we can help you just let us know, otherwise-"

"Save it Black. You are a horrible liar. Now both of you, James and Sirius, come with me. We are going to see the headmaster."

"It was Lupin's fault!" Sirius said quickly, pinning the blame on him, as a last resort to escape punishment. McGonagall looked at Lupin, her favorite student, fondly, and said,

"I'm sure Peter and Remus knew about this plot, but most probably didn't have very much to do with it. Therefore I'm putting the blame on both of you two," she finished, while frowning at James and Sirius. There was a twinkle in her eye though, that made both of the boys hopeful that they would get off lightly. A she marched the two boys down the corridor; Sirius looked back at Lupin and stuck out his tongue. Moony just laughed, his narrow shoulders shaking with mirth. Padfoot was the most immature Gryffindor the house had ever seen. It was as though there was a five year old stuck inside of him, just begging to be released. And of course he indulged it.

"Do you think they'll try to pin it on us again?" Wormtail asked in a nervous voice.

"Oh come on now," Moony assured him. "Padfoot already tried, and she didn't believe him. Besides, James wouldn't ever sell us out." Wormtail still remained afraid looking.

"If I get in trouble again my mum will send a howler," he said in a concerned voice.

"Live a little," Lupin shot at him, then was off down the hall. He wanted to get firsthand what punishment the boys were given this time.

Remus Lupin had started off his first year as a shy, timid boy who jumped at his own shadow. If he had been told back then that he would be up to all kinds of mischief, and telling a boy who seldom got good marks to 'live a little', he would've just laughed.

He had been bitten as a young boy, by a werewolf. His family was unsure of who had bit him, but it didn't really matter. The deed was done, and at the next full moon, Remus changed. It was the most painful experience of his life, and it terrified him out of his mind. His family became shunned by the nearby town folk, and was often whispered about behind closed doors. Remus had fully expected to live out his life in complete and utter solitude, and was quiet and miserable.

When his letter for Hogwarts came, he had been thrilled. As he prepared and bought all his school things with what was left of his parent's meager supply of money, he saw something that made him quite nervous. Everyone that was buying school things was surrounded by a group of friends. The magnitude of the situation hit him, and he realized that he would always be a social reject and outcast, just like he was now. Lupin went into a sort of depression after that, before Hogwarts term started, and he almost decided he didn't want to go to Hogwarts after all. It was only the fact that he had already bought all his things that made him go. There were so many interesting things there at Hogwarts that he almost didn't almost feel lonely until the middle of the year. It was when James Potter and his friend Sirius Black had played a prank on him, and saw that he didn't even crack a smile, was when they took him under their wing. From then on he was a part of a group, and they slowly accepted Pettigrew, a boy who always followed them around.

Now, Lupin mused, he was almost as bad as they were. The thought caused him to laugh out loud, scaring a first year.

"Sorry mate," he said reassuringly, "I just had a funny thought." The first year still looked a bit petrified, and Moony thought it best to walk away.

No, he decided, he would never quite be as bad as James Potter and Sirius Black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer- HP and characters all belong to JK Rowling, whom I love and adore.**

**A/N- Keep in mind they're not animagus's yet. I beg of you to review for the Marauders sakes, and give prank ideas! Flames welcome, this is my first multichapter fanfic. Enjoy :)**

Lupin found them in the kitchens, after a very long search. James and Sirius were currently stuffing their faces, surrounded by the small, upturned, adoring faces of the house elves. They were surrounded on all sides by a colossal feast. There were whole turkeys, chickens and even a suckling pig. Pies and tarts were bordering the meat platters on all sides, and trays of fresh fruits and vegetables were stuffed in right besides them. It was all presumably for the dinner that night, but James and Sirius really didn't seem to be giving a damn.

"Really?" was all Lupin could ask, with a face mixing shock, horror and perhaps a bit of a smile.

"Sorry mate," managed Sirius through a mouthful of food. It was amazing the boy could stretch his mouth so wide to cram it with all that, and yet still talk. It was inevitable that he would choke, and choke he did. It was more of a retching, gagging noise really, and he fell of his stool. The house elves all gave high pitched little shrieks as they rushed to get out of the way. One didn't make it though, and was squished by Sirius's frame. He remained sprawled on the floor laughing, while the house elf squeezed out from underneath, and wobbled away. Lupin was concerned for the elf's well being, but right now was more worried for Sirius. He had the demeanor of a drunken man at the moment. James just raised his eye brows and ignored him. Lupin how ever felt the need to ask,

"Are you alright?" Sirius smiled widely and replied,

"Never been better! Me and James just thought it best to remedial to our pains, before meeting back up with you."

"You're…pains?" Lupin said a bit puzzled.

"Well I mean you did throw us to the dogs, or, well in this case McGonagall. So I guess that would be a cat. It's hard work acting like a good little boy, and it took all my energy. Food does have healing powers after all, so I thought why not come down here and try to save our poor, insignificant lives," Sirius stated with a pout on his face. The boy never stopped.

"Plus we didn't want to waste our dashingly handsome figures. I mean just look at us! We're wasting away! After we were screamed at by McGonagall about 'what did we think we were doing? Did we think it smart or funny to blow up a classroom and injure people?' I may have answered somewhere along the lines of, 'Binns is a bloody ghost. He can't be injured, or have you been teaching us wrong?' I think we got, what was it James?" Here Sirius paused in his speech, and looked to James for an answer.

"Twenty-five," James confirmed through a mouthful of pastry.

"Right, so we got twenty five detentions. And after all our hard work on our trial run for the prank, I find out that didn't even work? It just blew up the desks. Shame to have put all that studying to waste, and we have even less time with our twenty-nine detentions." Lupin made a puzzled face, and Sirius said,

"I mean my twenty-nine. Don't you remember? Snape gave me four because of my reckless behavior around a potion or something of the sort. Oh that's right Moony; you were getting your potion from McGonagall on that day-"He stopped when he saw Lupin's 'shushing' face. Lupin found it wisest if the general population didn't know about his inflictions, something Sirius wasn't careful to follow.

"Oh come on mate," said James, mumbled between mouthfuls of peach, "no one will never find out about your 'furry little problem'. The house elves will never tell." Lupin just sighed and shook his head.

"Yeah," said Sirius. "And hey, wait! I'm mad at you right now! You could've at least tried to share the blame with us, then McGonagall your favorite teacher would've let us all off lightly, and-" Lupin interrupted him;

"Me? You tried to blame the whole thing on me! It wasn't my idea, you just told me to tag along and watch the fun, prat!" He said, jokingly glaring at Sirius. Sirius was nonchalantly eating on the floor ignoring him, having succeeding in pulling a platter of pumpkin pastries down to him. Moony knew a lost cause when he saw one, and decided that Sirius was Sirius. He wasn't going to change and that was that. He plopped down next to him, and helped himself to an overstuffed cauldron cake.

"What exactly is the plan? I wasn't exactly informed on all the details of this prank. Would either of you care to elaborate?" Lupin asked. Sirius shrugged in response.

"Moony, Moony, Moony." James shook his head. "I would've thought you, the Hogwarts prodigy, would've guessed it by now."

"I have nothing to guess it from!" Lupin protested. "You blew up a classroom, and that was the extent of it. I mean, you guys do that on a daily basis, so how should I know?" James and Sirius both just gave each other this knowing sort of look and chuckled. It was rather infuriating when they did that, but then again, wasn't that most everything they did? Moony just sighed. What was one to do when he had evil friends?

At that moment, a bell rang off somewhere in the distance.

"Ah shit!" James swore, "We're late for dinner."

"Really James? You literally just ate four meals and you're still hungry?" He just grinned.

"Well I mean, as Sirius said, we've got to maintain these figures!" With that he dashed off, to either get a seat by the best dish, or more plausibly to chat up Evans. This was (a) a very lost cause, and (b) a daily event of his. In which almost always ended in her telling him to bugger off in a much ruder manner. Sirius suspected James was only infatuated with the red headed minx, because he couldn't get her. But then again, Sirius had about four flings a week, so he wasn't the most constant or reliable source on love.

He and James were both tanned and muscular from Quidditch, with jet black hair. Sirius looked more rugged, one could say. On the other hand, James looked more windswept, with his longer mused up locks. Both of the boys were incredibly vain and spent more time on their hair then most girls ever would. Lupin was slight, and dark haired, but had more of a tawny and neglected look to him than anything else. That left Peter, who looked like, and would forever look like a short, plump rat. Lupin followed Sirius out of the kitchen at a more moderate pace, in an attempt not to step on any of the house elves underfoot. Sirius dashed from place to place, throwing caution to the wind.

As they entered the great hall, the noise hit them like a train. It was loud and unstoppable. The hundreds of candles hanging from the sky set a buttery yellow glow to everything. Lupin and Sirius looked about to spot James, when Peter scurried up by Moony's elbow.

"Oi Peter mate. Where have you been all day?" Sirius asked.

"After you two went to see Dumbledore, I thought it best to lay low. After all I couldn't be sure you wouldn't start blaming me too." Lupin snorted, and Sirius laughed,

"Pettigrew, even if you had more than one brain cell to rub together, you still wouldn't be able to come up with a single plan of your own, let alone the masterpiece me and Prongs are planning." Peter didn't even seem offended. It was, after all, general knowledge that he wasn't the brightest child in their year.

"Hey, I see James. And he's chatting up Evans of course," Sirius remarked, and he dashed over to his best friend. Moony and Wormtail followed behind, and slid onto the bench, across from James. Lily was glaring at him, her emerald green eyes narrowed. James had really just teased her a bit in their first year, when she had been a short, stubby, and fiery haired girl. It was in their second year when she had gotten tall and willowy, and more of ravishing than tomboy, was when he really had started pestering her.

"Screw you Potter," she was saying, "and don't you ever say that about Melissa again!"

"Wow, I guess if you really want to, then I'm okay with it. I didn't know you wanted me like that," James snickered.

"I mean it! Shut up you prat! She just likes to read! Just because you are unable, it doesn't mean you should be making fun of her!" she hissed.

"Yes you are totally right. Just because we are sexier and smarter than everyone here and we're gifted with the knowledge of it, totally doesn't mean we should taunt the lesser with it. You're so right!" James smirked. Lily just glared, and moved down about as far as she could go down the table. Sirius was laughing at James's disgruntled expression.

"Oh well mate. You'd better have a go at it later," Padfoot consoled him. As Wormtail helped himself to a platter of fried chicken, Lupin asked,

"So about that prank you are pulling-"James cut him off.

"Oh there's about to be a trial run in a few seconds. You'll see, just wait." Sirius winked at him. Lupin waited with baited breath, hoping the Great Hall wouldn't explode. In a moment there was a loud bang, and the table where the teachers sat exploded in a puff of smoke. Something huge and scaly erupted from the ash, and gave a huge roar. In a moment it dissipated though, sending soot down on all the students.

"Damn it, that one didn't work either," Sirius frowned. McGonagall was suddenly behind him, her mouth a white line, and her face utterly furious.

"All of you," she said gesturing at the four of them, "come with me now!" No one was surprised to see the four Marauders trouped out of the room, for after all, what commotion wasn't their fault?

One face stood out in particular to James. It was Lily Evans, who was looking utterly vindictive.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer- HP and all else still belongs to JK Rowling, although if she ever intends to sell it I'll be first in line :)**

**A/N- The plot thickens in this chapter. Once again review please! I'm not going to post another chapter until I get one more review! *evil** **laugh***

Lupin and Wormtail had never been more afraid of McGonagall then they were at this moment. Lupin hadn't even been this nervous when he had first changed into a werewolf- no, that was way scarier, but still. In fact, Lupin had to be careful not to make McGonagall to mad, or she might not 'remember' to remind Professor Slughorn to make his potion. He was her favorite student, and she was much to nice, but it was a precaution he had to take.

He had a full moon coming up in two days, and he always took a potion that would make him fall asleep. James and Sirius were apparently working on a way that they could come with him when he 'changed', because if he met any people as a wolf, he'd kill them. They said they apparently hadn't had any break through, but Wormtail had acted a bit strange every time he asked about it.

James and Sirius were acting a bit too cocky at the moment. They seemed almost proud of themselves for causing such a fuss. Moony wished there was some way he could tell them to act apologetic and just fess up, but McGonagall was watching them like a hawk. Her face was drained of color and her lips were a narrow white line. Her nostrils were flared, and her jaw was jutted forwards, making her appear almost demented.

"Professor," Lupin began timidly, before he was cut off. She just turned around to glare, instantly quelling the words in his throat.

"I would just like to say, that for the record," Sirius started in a lazy tone. When he started talking, he never stopped, and now was not the time. James apparently was aware of that for once, and seemed to be drifting over in Sirius's direction. Prongs took the opportunity to stomp on Sirius's foot when McGonagall blinked. Sirius crumpled to the ground, and howled for all he was worth. It was utterly melodramatic and unnecessary, but then again this was Sirius.

"Black," hissed McGonagall, "Save it for later." She proceeded to glare at him sternly, and then continued to march down the corridor. The four of them followed meekly behind.

"Can it mate," James warned Sirius in a whisper.

"That bloody hurt! You made me fall on my arse," Sirius accused, "And may have permanently damaged it." James only snorted, and Lupin shook his head.

"It will forever be a sexy arse no matter what," Sirius went on in a hushed tone, "But you may have just damaged my chances with the ladies, a wee bit." James had to snicker quietly at that, but didn't really succeed in remaining quiet. McGonagall turned around and said,

"Sirius Black if you don't silence yourself this instant, I will expel you, and you'll never have a chance with the 'ladies'." Lupin could almost swear she had muttered to herself under her breath after that;

"Not that you ever had," with a twinkle in her eye, but he couldn't be quite sure. They walked a few more steps in silence, before they reached the magnificent entrance to the headmaster's office. It was a marble circular alcove, with a giant bronze griffin in the center. McGonagall shooed them onto the platform the griffin was on, and said the words,

"Peppermint toad." The statue with them on its base began to spiral upwards. Wormtail gave a squeak of surprise, but the other three had expected it. They had all been to the headmaster's office many times before, but every time Wormtail had escaped being caught. He was acting very suspicious at the moment, and was biting his nails very nervously. James and Sirius needed to come up with a story quick, or else their parents would be furious if they found out what they'd done. If she interrogated them, Wormtail would crack in a few seconds and rat Prongs and Padfoot out. James's parents would probably laugh off his millionth detention, but Sirius's parents would most likely disown him.

All four of the boys were in Gryffindor house. They enemy of Gryffindor house was the Slytherin house, and Sirius's whole family had been in the Slytherin house. When his parents and little brother Regalus had heard he had been sorted into the Gryffindor house in his first year, they had quite literally loathed him. The barely tolerated him over the time they had with him, which was why he spent so much time at the Potter's house. The Potter's had sort of adopted him as their second son.

There was no doubt that Lupin would receive a howler from home, if his mum and dad found out about it, but he thought they were secretly pleased he was making friends and causing trouble.

McGonagall shooed them again, into the headmaster's office and stood in the doorway looking ominous.

"I'm going to get the headmaster. You will remain here _quietly_ and wait for us to return." She shut the heavy wooden door behind her with a bang, and was gone. The moment the door was closed, they all began to talk at once.

"Shut it!" bellowed James. The three of them turned to look at him expectantly. He was the sort of unofficial appointed leader after all.

"Alright here's what's going to happen. We know absolutely nothing about this. We have alibis, because the time when all the things needed in making that happen were stolen, the four of us was down at the Quidditch pitch."

Lupin was aghast.

"You two were stealing things? No wonder you were gone from the pitch for twenty minutes when you supposedly went to the bathroom."

"Ah Moony, calm down. It's not as if we like broke and entered. We did that last year when we were making this." He pulled out of his pocket a battered piece of parchment.

The boys had decided last year that they had wanted to make a map of every passage and place in Hogwarts. It was a complete success, and more. The Marauders had explored many places, an still were unable to uncover all of Hogwarts secrets. As an alerternative, they had tried to cast a binding spell to the parchment and Hogwarts, so all of Hogwarts passages would show up on the map. Something else happened too. Now every person that was in Hogwarts also showed up on the map, no matter where they were.

They had discovered many trap door and corridors that few had ever known about. Including how to enter the kitchen, supposedly only open to house elves. If you tickled the pear on a painting of a fruit bowl in the dungeons, a door opened up to the kitchens.

James and Sirius's had exploited the fact that they now knew where everything was, and were often supplied with how to enter it. Most likely they had snuck into the Potion Master's supply room, to get who knows what.

"The only thing I can't figure is who ratted us out," Sirius said angrily.

"She probably doesn't have proof it was you two," Lupin told him. "McGonagall just suspects it was us because it almost always it."

"No, someone definitely snitched," James confirmed. "She thinks she had us accounted for all day. We were at the Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw Quidditch game this morning and straight after that, we're in her office being lectured. From there it was the kitchens then dinner."

The Quidditch game that morning had been a very fast passed one, but had gone on until 1:00 PM.

"That means she doesn't have me or Wormtail accounted for then," said Lupin a bit worriedly.

At that moment the door swung open, and Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall swept into the room. McGonagall stood behind the boys and frowned at the back of their heads. Dumbledore went to sit behind his desk, and folded his long fingers in front of him.

"Boys," he said, "I know that what you did was all in fun, but the fact is that you nicked a very dangerous substance to create that disturbance. It could have potentially injured many students." McGonagall seemed to feel that the four boys weren't being yelled at enough, and interjected.

"What you did was foolish and irresponsible. I let you off this afternoon out of the good of my heart, and you blatantly disregarded that! The material that you stole is an illegal substance to be in the possession of students and I want to know immediately where you got it from." Lupin looked at James and Sirius confused, but their faces revealed nothing.

"Professor," said James, but McGonagall interrupted again.

"Did you know that you may have sprained Professor Flitwick's arm? And many students are bruised and cut from your little prank, or whatever that was." Professor Flitwick was, to put it kindly, a midget. He sat on a high stool at the teachers table, and was barely able to balance on it.

"Professor," James started again, "we didn't have time to steal anything today. We were at the Quidditch pitch all morning and afternoon, and with you in your office, the other half. We were present at dinner, and couldn't possibly have done anything."

"Save it Potter," she said. "We know you did it."

"And precisely how do you know?" asked Sirius in a rather snide voice.

"We have a student, who claims to have seen you and Potter enter Professor Slughorn's private potions supply room during the Quidditch game." Sirius sat up from his slumped position and frowned. Whoever it was, he would make them miserable for being such a little rat.

The door behind them swung open. In walked none other than the person they hated and tormented more than anything else in the world. Severus Snape.

"Blimey," hissed Sirius under his breath. He and James both looked vengeful, almost more so than Professor McGonagall.

Severus Snape was a neglected appearing Slytherin. He wore his hair long, greasy and black, and had a stuck up attitude to match it. He had a long hooked nose, and black eyes. Worst of all, in James's opinion, was the fact that he was very good friends with Lily Evans. The loathe between the five boys was mutual, and they all tried to do the best they could to sabotage everything the other did.

"What did you do? Follow us? Wow _Snivellus_ I didn't realize you were such a stalker. Oh wait, never mind, we already did." Sirius sneered, giving up the pretense of innocence.

"Well he stalks Evans enough as it is," James said to Sirius. It was an attempt to upset Severus, or Snivellus, as he was cruelly called by the Marauders. It worked, and Snape glared at James.

"I didn't follow you. I didn't feel well and wasn't at the game." He retorted. James pretended not to hear.

"I didn't realize you swung that way. Just wanted to see us we pissing, did you? That's bloody repulsive, and I'll have to ask you to keep your eyes to yourself," James said in a mock disgusted tone.

"But you didn't go to the bathroom," Snape said angrily, his black eyes shinning with malice. "I saw both of you whispering suspiciously and I followed you. You both walked purposefully to the potions supply room, and came back with a lot of things I didn't quite see."

"We got lost," Sirius said defensively.

"Professor," James said in a mocking tone, "I would like to request a restraining order between us and _Snivelly._ He followed us to the bathroom, and is constantly watching us, plus-"he was cut off by Dumbledore.

"That's _enough_!" He didn't even raise his voice, but the room fell silent.

"We have more than enough proof that it was indubitably you two boys," he said pointing at Sirius and James. "I'm sorry but there will have to be consequences. There will be a notice of this sent to your parents, and there will be a ban from the two of you playing Quidditch for the rest of the year. Since detentions don't have an effect on you, there will also be other punishments that I will inform you of later." James and Sirius's faces fell and they looked utterly crushed.

Snape on the other hand looked completely thrilled. It looked like he wanted to jump up and down and dance he was happy. Lupin knew there was only one course of action to follow in order to prevent this from happening.

"Professor," he said, "It was me. I stole the things from the supply room. I wanted to see if I could use them in any way to make my 'situation' any better, or to make a cure. It was foolish of me and I'm sorry. I misplaced the items during the games today, and asked James and Sirius to go and get me more. They were only being good friends, and were trying to keep my secret. The items I misplace during the match today must have been stolen by somebody else and used to create the prank. You shouldn't punish them. It was my entire fault."

There was a stunned silence in the room.

The face of Severus Snape only appeared happier at this development


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer- Hp and co. are still in the posession of JK Rowling.**

**A/N- In case it is unclear, butterbeer is a nonalcoholic drink. Hope you enjoy, and PLEASE review!**

Moony woke up the next morning with a teacup pig on his chest, and an odd ache in his head. He also had an odd tense feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't quite understand. He sat up and groaned as the room spun around him. He had never experienced a hangover before, but he was quite sure this was what one would feel like.

"Sirius," he mumbled through a dry throat, "why in the name of Merlin is there a pig on top of me?" But there was no one in the room other than him and Prongs. James looked even worse off than him. He was sprawled on the floor, on a pile of dirty laundry. James's only response was to utter a piteous groan.

Moony managed to get off the bed, after shoving the pig off, which gave an indignant squeal. He then tottered to the door of their common room. Lupin realized he would not be able to continue, if he didn't clear away his headache, and looked about for his wand. It was nowhere to be found.

"Where is my wand?" Lupin inquired a note of panic in his voice.

"I don't know," James mumbled. He found it after digging through the scattered articles of clothing, in the corner. It was oddly enough under a tablecloth, which appeared to have been taken from the Three Broomsticks.

"Renervate," Moony said, performing the charm that quickly cleared him of his aching head. What in the world had happened last night?

He walked into the common room, and saw what appeared to be the leftover trash from a massive party. Then it all came flooding back.

_"Lupin? Are you quite sure that this was your doing?" McGonagall had inquired after Moony had taken the blame for the stolen potions ingredients. Remus knew it was the only way that this would end in no one being expelled, and had kept his resolve._

_"Yes Professor. I'm so sorry about that. I hate to burden you and Slughorn with my-"he paused and looked at Snape, "illness. I just wanted to find some way to make it more bearable. I'm truly sorry." Dumbledore seemed a bit pleased for some odd reason, but Professor McGonagall looked extremely upset. _

_Sirius looked like he wanted to throttle Severus, who was snickering quietly behind them. Wormtail seemed relieved that he wasn't going to be in trouble, and James was frowning at Lupin, trying to convey that he should stop lying. It was in vain though, because Lupin would do anything to make sure that his friends weren't expelled._

_"This is very serious Remus!" McGonagall said, her face worried. Dumbledore spoke from behind her,_

_"Severus, perhaps it would be best if you went back to your dormitory. The situation will be handled." Snape seemed loathe to leave the room, presumably because he wanted to see them all punished. He curtly nodded, and left the, banging the door behind him._

_"Remus, I know that you were not doing this to be bad, but it could have ended disastrously." McGonagall paused, and looked pointedly at the three Marauders other than Moony._

_"It's all right Professor," he assured her, "they already know everything." She shook her head in a sort of exasperated manner, and continued. _

_"Many people have tried taking various potions or assorted remedies during their transformation, but it always has a bad effect. It seems for some reason to help the wolf and not the person. It doesn't help them keep their wits, but aids them in hunting as a mindless wolf. Once someone tried to take a potion that would give them a clear mind when they were a werewolf, in an attempt to be able to keep their human mind. Instead, they only became a smarter wolf that hunted humans with an eerie precision. Quinten Barnes, an accomplished potions brewer and werewolf, once tried to take Felix Felicis when he transformed. The luck potion only made the wolf incredibly lucky. Imagine a wolf that when they started hunting, never failed to kill whoever they stalked. Many muggles were killed, and in the end he was killed by a muggle hunter. It was a disaster. So you see that it is never a good idea to experiment with something dangerous, when you are uncertain of the effect." _

_Moony hung his head, and attempted to appear very remorseful. _

_Lupin actually had considered trying to find something that would cure him, or at least would have made the transformations not painful. He was very glad now that he hadn't. McGonagall then continued talking._

_"We knew it was risky to take a young dangerous werewolf in, but Dumbledore convinced the staff it would be entirely harmless." Dumbledore smiled kindly at Lupin from behind Professor McGonagall._

_"I still have complete faith in you," he said, his eyes twinkling from down his crooked nose._

_"Be that as it may," McGonagall said, keeping up full stream, "you could have potentially danger the student population. Normally that would consist of expulsion-"Moony looked up, his eyes wide and startled._

_"Professor?" he gasped._

_"As I was saying, would __normally__, but since you were unaware of the danger, you shan't be expelled. You did convince you friends to steal illegal potions supplies for you, though I have no idea how they would help your condition." She still hadn't said what was stolen, and Lupin was burning with curiosity. If there was only some way he could get her to say what was stolen. She seemed to doubt his story though, and was perhaps trying to trick him into revealing it wasn't his plan, by his ignorance. _

_Wormtail was fidgeting in the corner, and James and Sirius actually appeared a bit bored. They had both looked up shocked when McGonagall had mentioned Lupin being expelled, but were now no longer really listening._

_"We planted the Whomping Willow on the grounds as means to get you out of range of the castle. If you took any potions, it could aide you in escaping, and potentially killing students, or residents of Hogsmeade. From this point on, you will have to be monitored to ensure the safety of the students." Dumbledore frowned at that, and finally entered the discussion._

_"Minerva, I trust Remus completely. I find that unnecessary. It would be more prudent to just explain to him the dangers in length, and trust him."_

_"Albus," she said turning to him, "With all due respect, I must disagree. One of my cousins was killed by a werewolf; I want to make sure that Remus doesn't slip out and injure or kill a student. I know he is very responsible, but I don't want anything to happen. It's better safe than sorry." The four Marauders glanced at each other. That was news to them. Sirius seemed to be trying to tell Lupin something, but he only made it seem like he was trying to get his eyebrows to jump off his face. Moony looked confused, and Sirius tried to motion even harder, while Dumbledore and McGonagall argued behind them. _

_After length, Lupin had deciphered that Sirius wanted to get out of there. Or, well, at least that's what Lupin thought he meant. After a length of time, Moony realized that Professor McGonagall was trying to get their attention._

_"Boys!" she said loudly. They all turned to her. "For the time being we are unable to agree on the 'results' of this incident, so you are to return to your dormitories." _

_Sirius was unable to hold back a grin, and dashed out the door before the rest of them. The office had gotten stuffy during their time in it, and the cool air felt good. James was grinning broadly._

_"Thanks Moony mate, you really are the best friend ever!"_

_"Hey!" Sirius shouted, sounding falsely offended._

_It was dark outside already, because it grew dark very early in the summer. Even though it was probably only 6:30, it felt to be around ten. Padfoot seemed euphoric that he hadn't gotten in trouble, and was idiotically skipping down the hallway. _

_"You know what?" Sirius asked them, and then continued without giving them a chance to answer. "We should go to Hogsmeade. They'll be in there arguing for forever. No one's going to check to see where we are!" James hesitated, and then agreed. _

_"Screw this, of course we should!" he said enthusiastically. Prongs of course just happened to have the Marauders Map in his pocket, but the boys knew the castle so well by now, they didn't really need it. In their giddy excitement at not being expelled, no one thought to bring the cloak of invisibility that James owned._

_They wandered up the dark empty stone hallways, until they came to the statue of the one eyed witch on the third floor. They tapped her hump, and a passage opened up. Laughing and talking in hushed whispers, they walked rapidly down the long passage, until they reached a cul-de-sac. Above their heads was a wooden floor, and a trap door. It led into the storage room of Honeydukes. _

_Luckily the store was closed early on a Saturday. They hoisted themselves up through the door, an out of the store, quietly using an unlocking spell on the doors. Sirius swiped some chocolate frogs while they were in there, but Lupin was too happy to be out to care. Normally he made them all leave money behind if they took some of the treats sold there._

_The streets of Hogsmeade were quiet, with only a few stragglers out. James picked the Three Broomsticks to enter, who didn't really care if you were there when you weren't supposed to as long as you paid. They ordered butterbeers, and celebrated once more escaping punishment, for they all knew Dumbledore would make sure that they weren't reprimanded. Everything was clear to Lupin, until he'd drunk his tenth butterbeer._

Lupin walked down the steps, and stood on the common room floor. He spotted Sirius asleep on one of the sofas by the fire. Wormtail was still nowhere in sight.

"Oi Sirius!" Lupin exclaimed. "Wake up? What happened last night?" Prongs sat up groggily, but didn't seem as effected as James and Lupin. Sirius was addicted to butterbeer, and drank it much more often than the boys. Butterbeer was good in moderation, but if dranken in large quantities caused extreme sugar rushes.

Sirius just appeared more tired.

"Hmmmm?" he asked. Moony threw a pillow at him.

"Alright, alright I'm awake!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Where is Wormtail?" Lupin asked concerned.

"Wormtail is a big, fat pig," Sirius mumbled.

"I know! But where is he?" Lupin asked.

"He is literally a pig! I think it was James who transformed. Wouldn't stop talking once he was hyper," Sirius laughed. Lupin just shook his head. He did remember something of the sort.

Wormtail had been talking about how hard it was to be a rat or something very confusing. James and Sirius both had glared at him for some odd reason, but Wormtail kept on talking about some 'transformation' or something. James had finally and exasperatedly just turned him into a pig. That explained the pig that was sitting on Lupin when he awoke. He had probably been trying to wake him.

There had been a party in the common room, Lupin remembered. They had all left the pub rather crazy, and gotten back narrowly avoiding Filch. Filch constantly was monitoring the halls, and had it out for the four Marauders.

Sirius had decided he was hungry in the common room, and had summoned the kitchen house elves and begged for a feast. They had more than willingly obliged, and brought up a banquet. They had been quite a bit loud, and eventually many students had come out of their dorms, to join the party. After all, it was a Saturday, and a party in the Gryffindor Common room wasn't very uncommon at all.

At some point Lily Evans and her friends had entered the room, all clad in their pajamas, quelling the rumors that the Gryffindor girls slept in scandalous attire. They had told them all in a rather impolite manner, to keep it down.

James had then come up to her, and in an in attempt to impress her, dumped a glass of pumpkin juice down her shirt. He had been drunkenly trying to juggle a few glasses of it. She was utterly furious, and had screeched at him, then stormed up to her dorm. James had then behaved like a baby for the rest of the night, explaining his condition upstairs.

It still didn't explain why there was a table cloth upstairs too, but right now Lupin didn't care.

He was going to take a nap.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer- Yup, everything Harry Potter still remains in the posession of JK Rowling.**

**A/N- So this is my favorite chapter yet! I think I'm going to end this rather soon, so a final prank idea would be ****_much_**** appreciated :). Also, another chapter won't be posted until I get one more review. Mwahahahaha! Enjoy.**

After a long, much needed nap, all four Marauders felt much better on Sunday night. Well, with the exception of Prongs, because he was still moping over the Lily thing.

"Oh cheer up, mate. It can't really get any worse. I mean how many more times can she reject you?" Sirius had said, in an attempt to cheer him up. James just seemed to sink into his self-pity even more.

"That's just it. I think she enjoys rejecting me. My sorrow is funny to her," he said in a despairing voice.

"Ah the cruel heart of a woman," Sirius sighed. He had asked out Hestia Jones that day for the third time, and she had actually punched him in the jaw. She was, to put it nicely, zesty.

Lupin was very moody, with the looming prospect of a full moon on the upcoming Wednesday. As a result, Sirius found it hilarious to stand up and announce to the common room,

"Remus Lupin is PMSing!" Lupin had yanked him down, and glared at him.

"What?" Sirius asked innocently. "It's true you know. It stands for Pre-Moon Syndrome." James laughed so hard he fell off his chair, and lay on the ground snorting with laughter. Lupin continued to glare at him.

"The rest of the people don't know what you mean, and think you are referring to something else," he said.

"Ah come on mate. Only joking, and after all, I'm quite sure the student population- particularly the girls- know that we, the sexy Marauders, are indeed male," sniggered Sirius. James called up from the floor,

"With the exception of Wormy that is!" Wormtail was still miffed with the fact, that none of them had turned him back into a human from his pig form, and only stuck out his tongue in reply.

"Just kidding," James grinned. "We all recognize the fact that, you too, are a sexy beast." Moony had to crack up with that. They had lifted him out of his dark mood, and he was once more happy with life. That was, until he saw the ominous figure of Professor McGonagall striding towards them. Lupin stiffened, and elbowed Sirius in the side. He turned in around, and saw her.

"James, shut it," he hissed. All four of the boys waited nervously for her to approach them.

"Boys," she said, "we need to talk." The four Marauders looked at each other, and didn't reply. Ignoring their reluctance, she sat down in an armchair across from them.

"Dumbledore," she started off, saying his name like it was a nasty word she was loathe to let leave her mouth, "has found it best to let all four of you off, completely free, even with your tremendous past record." Moony let the corners of his mouth uplift into a huge relieved grin. James punched him in the arm, and grinned in relief as well. Wormtail didn't really care as long as he wasn't in trouble, and Sirius wasn't concerned for Moony's fate. After all, Sirius was the one constantly in trouble, not Lupin.

"But there is a matter that has to be cleared up," she said, her eyebrows furrowed. "Slughorn's supply room _was _a secret that many of the staff didn't even know about. He was always very cautious about entering it, and made sure he was never followed. It contained many dangerous things in it, which if not handled with the precise care, could cause disastrous results." Moony looked at James and Sirius nervously. How would they explain how they had found it, without revealing the existence of the Marauders Map?

"How did you find it?" McGonagall asked, her face blank. Lupin's mind was completely blank, and unlike in class, he had absolutely no answer. Sirius opened his mouth, and then closed, also at a loss. After a lengthy silence, James offered up pitifully,

"Got lucky I guess." McGonagall seemed completely unsatisfied, and looked at them suspiciously. Moony nodded in agreement, and tried to appear innocent. It was quite a stretch though, and McGonagall was a very non gullible person.

"Really? That is what happened?" She asked again, giving them another chance.

"It's true Professor, I swear. I mean we all knew he had supply room somewhere, and we saw him enter that part of the castle one day. We explored it later on, and just got lucky," Sirius further explained.

"You just _happened_ to tap a painting of a Potion's Club with your wand, and say the ingredients of Amortentia? Highly unlikely, and besides, none of you even know the ingredients of that particular advanced potion." Sirius looked desperate. The map was his pride and joy- probably one of the only smart achievements he'd made in life. He would do anything to avoid losing it.

"I've been studying for the upcoming exams, and I knew the ingredients. James was quizzing me as we walked, and I accidently tapped the painting, while reciting its ingredients, and a Swelling Solution's. It was just luck I guess," Lupin said hoping she'd believe it. It was ridiculous sounding, even for them. McGonagall knew they'd stick to that story for forever though, and she'd get nowhere with them. She just sighed, and said,

"Well if you have anything else to tell me, stay after class tomorrow." And with that, she stood up, and walked out of the Gryffindor Dormitory. James heaved a sigh of relief.

"Quick thinking Moony, nice one." He said.

"Where is our lovely Marauders Map anyways? Do you have it Prongs?" Sirius inquired. At that moment, Lily Evans walked around the armchair and asked,

"What is a 'Marauder's Map'?" James looked dumbstruck, and didn't reply. Wormtail gave a squeak of surprise and Lupin said nothing. Sirius on the other hand smirked at her, and said in a condescending voice,

"None of your business. Now could you 'keep it down? We are trying to ignore you, but it's really difficult not to.'" It was almost precisely what she had yelled at them last night during the party. She glared at him, her bright emerald eyes narrowed. James ignored Sirius, and started to explain,

"Well it's a piece of parchment we-"before Sirius kicked him in the side. Lily looked at him in distain,

"I wasn't talking to you _Potter_." Sirius looked at James in sympathy. James wasn't exactly the best at expressing his crush on Lily, and it didn't help that he often went out of his way to make fun of her and her friends. Particularly Severus Snape. Lupin thought that James might have more than just a crush on Lily, since he'd been infatuated with her since their second year, but Prongs always denied it. Same with Sirius and Hestia, although Sirius almost seemed to enjoy the rejection, and took it as a challenge. Also Sirius went out with a lot of girls, where as James sort of flirted with a few other girls, but spent all his time on Lily.

"Budge off," Sirius told her. She gave a parting smile at Lupin, and then flounced off. Remus was on good terms with her, because they were in many of the advanced classes with each other. She didn't find him as irritating as James or Sirius, for after all he didn't ask her out, or tease her at every opportunity.

The moment she was out of hearing distance, James asked in a concerned voice,

"Who does have the map? I don't, and apparently neither does Sirius." Lupin rarely had it, because he had no need to sneak around the castle, and Wormtail wasn't trusted enough to keep hold if it. Both of the boys shook their head in confirmation that neither of them were in possession of it.

Sirius stood up, and began searching his robes then book bag for it. His bag contained loads of crumpled pieces of parchment, most of them notes the boys had passed around in classes. James went through his somewhat more orderly things, than got down to help Sirius search for it in his things as well.

It was nowhere to be found.

Frank Longbottom was sitting nearby in an overstuffed armchair, reading a book. Prongs asked him in an overly calm voice,

"Hey Frank? Have you by any chance seen a spare bit of parchment lying nearby?"

Frank was a quiet and nice sort of boy, and was a year older than the Marauders. He was tall and rather gawky, with dark wavy brown hair and brown eyes. He was dating Alice, a sixth year, and since then had become more outspoken. He was a friend of the boys, and often helped them with their homework.

"Sorry, no," he said with a sympathetic frown, and then went back to his book.

"Must have left it in Charms," James said worriedly, after they'd dismantled the couches and sofas nearby and still not found it. The four boys stood up, and dashed out of the room. Walking at a very brisk pace, in case they were stopped for running, they went down the hall. When they got to the stairs, they were gone. The stairs at Hogwarts had a tendency to move to other landings, and it was rare for the stairs leading to the dorms to disappear. Once they did, they were long in coming back though, and there was no telling how long this would take.

"Alright that's it. We're going to have to improvise," James said, and with that, he levitated himself down to the next landing. He was closely followed by Sirius, who fell with a thump when he reached the floor. Wormtail hesitated for so long, that Moony shoved him off, and then jumped off as well, landing with a dull bumping noise. They stood up and dusted themselves off, when the sound of a pair of footsteps came near them. There was nowhere to hide, and so they stood there trying to look innocent. Filch came walking quickly around the corner, closely followed by his kitten, dubbed named Mrs. Norris.

The meaning to the name Mrs. Norris was lost on the student population, but the cat was hated by all. It had the same uncanny talent as Filch, to detect mischief making from any point in the castle. Once she found them, she would immediately report back to Filch, or something of the sort, resulting in the mischief makers being caught.

"Ah ha! Caught you boys! Up to no good now are we?" None of them responded, and kept their faces blank. Filch seemed a bit discouraged by their lack of response, for normally they responded back with cleverly worded insults that he could punish them for. James finally said,

"We weren't doing anything."

"Don't think I'm not watching you. I know all about the fact that you boys broke into some locked up room in the castle. Make sure you behave," Filch warned, and then stumped off to try and catch some other student. They all breathed a sigh of relief, and then sprinted off as quietly as they could own to the Charms classroom. It was nowhere in sight, so Sirius took it upon himself to search though Flitwick's desk- and still no sign of it. They glumly went off down the hall to search another room. None of them thought to use the summoning charm to find it.

There was a quiet noise from down a side hallway, and James looked down it. There was Snivellus, staring intently at a piece of rumpled parchment in his hand.

"Oi," James shouted, "That paper's mine, now give it back!" Snape looked up in surprise, and then a look of derision crossed his face once he realized who it was.

"No it isn't. I found it on a desk in the Transfiguration Classroom. You weren't anywhere near it," he replied, the hatred barely disguised in his voice.

"So that's where I left it. Knew it was some classroom," Sirius murmured from behind Prongs.

"You were studying it so closely, that your great, big hooked nose probably left grease spots on it. I don't want it ruined, now give it back!" James said angrily.

"So it's important to you? What exactly is it? There's some enchantment on it, but I can't figure it out. It sparked when I tried." James just glared at him, and stuck out his hand for the map.

"Is it perhaps another enchanted item to be used to ask out Evans? She'll never go out with a prat like you. You think you're _so_ great don't you? Strutting around the school like you-"he was cut off by a bang, and he fell over backwards. James and Sirius had both cried 'Expellilarmus' at about the same time, knocking him over, and rendering him unconscious. James grabbed the parchment, and sighed with relief. Prongs and Padfoot walked away, with Lupin following closely behind. Wormtail trailed behind them more slowly, throwing nervous glances back at Snape.

"You know what we should do?" James asked Lupin and Sirius, "We should enchant the map so that whenever someone tried to get it to work, it really insults them." James looked really miffed about the fact that Snape had made fun of his attempts with Lily. Sirius considered it, and said,

"You know Prongs, that's actually a really good idea!" Right then and there, Sirius and James plopped down in the corridor, and began placing a spell on it. Lupin walked back to where Wormtail stood nervously, and told him,

"Stop looking so worried. What's wrong?" Wormtail replied back with,

"Nothing, I just don't want to be caught near Snape." In a moment or two, James called out,

"Got it! Now all we have to do is think up a ton of insults, and we'll be set."

"Or we could just let the map decide the insult," Sirius suggested.

"How?"

"Enchant the map so it can detect what the person looks like, and will make fun of their appearance."

"Not bad," James said.

"We should then have it say our names, nicknames that is, so the people know it's an actually person making fun of them," Lupin suggested.

"Nice idea!" James and Sirius said. Sirius may have been failing in many classes, but he was damn good at inventing charms or using them for prank ideas. He muttered a bit, and then came up with an idea.

"Alright, so if a person uses their wand to try and make it work, it will give an insult on that person's appearance, supposedly one from each of us." Before they could try it, a pair of running footsteps came around the corner.

It was Filch, with Lily Evans gripped tightly in one arm. Her long, dark red hair was askew, and she was in her pajamas.

"And now it's after hours boys, so you and Miss. Evans truly are in trouble," Filch said gleefully.

"Lily?" James asked dumbfounded. The boys were too busy staring at Lily confused, so they didn't even notice when Filch snagged the map from off the floor.

"And _what_ do we have here?" He asked, his black eyes glinting.


End file.
